Clonings
by LtKatia
Summary: Takes place post-season 5 of SGA. Sam is in command of The Hammond and has been for a couple years. She is home at the SGC while the ship is being refitted, and also to participate in Daniel and Vala's wedding. Why is she not happy? Sam/Martouf/Lantash


A/N: Sort of rewrite of a fanfic I read a long time ago, that was about SG-1 and Martouf/Lantash and (I think) Jacob/Selmak being clones. It wasn't shippy though but it inspired my to do a Sam/Martouf/Lantash version! This fic takes place post-season 5 of SGA. Sam is in command of _The__Hammond_ and has been for a couple years. She is home at the SGC while the ship is being refitted, and also to participate in Daniel and Vala's wedding.

'Here you are, girl!' Vala gushed. 'I've been looking for you! You haven't forgotten you're my maid of honor, have you? The wedding's in under 2 hours!'

'No. I haven't forgotten.' Sam didn't turn to look at her friend.

'Well come on! I need you to help me with...' Vala suddenly realized something was wrong. 'Sam? Are you OK?'

Sam sniffled a little and quickly dried her eyes. 'Yeah. I'm OK. I'm coming.'

Vala quietly studied the slightly red-rimmed eyes of her friend. 'You've been crying.' She observed suddenly serious. 'What's up?'

'I don't want to talk about it, but don't think for a minute I'm not happy for you.' Sam smiled bleakly. 'I am. Very.'

'I know you're not that interested in Daniel, so it's not that...spill it! It'll be better for you and I can't have you walking around looking misearable on my wedding day!' She sat down beside Sam and put an arm around her shoulder.

Sam was quiet for quite some time before she turned to look at Vala, tears glistening in her eyes again.

'I do not want to trouble you on your big day...your wedding just got me thinking...about some things in my life that I regret.' She looked down. 'Some things I can't change however much I want to.'

'I thought you were happy with your life? Your career?'

'Oh, I'm happy with that part of my life. I wouldn't change that - don't ever think that!' Sam said very determined. 'No...it is the...personal part of my life I have regrets about.'

'Is it because of Jack finally got engaged to that woman from...whats it called...Homeworld Security?' Vala said remembering Sam had once - when they were drinking together - admitted she had a crush on Jack. She had denied when she was sober again.

Sam smiled. 'No, not at all. I'm glad he's finally happy. I admit I did have a crush on him - for far too long - but that's all it was, and I'm over that, even if I guess we both wasted a lot of time on it. I wish I had realized sooner that I didn't truly love him.'

Vala didn't say anything, knowing her friend well enough to know she would get to it in her own time - she had always problems with emotions - like Vala had, but she reacted differently.

Sam took a deep breath. 'There was someone once. Someone it took me a long time to realise I loved. I was very confused then - both by the crush I thought I had on O'Neill and by some other things.' She looked at Vala. 'You know I was once a host to a Tok'ra. I haven't talked much about it.'

'No, but I've been told you weren't a willing host, so I can understand. Didn't think the Tok'ra did that, but...I guess a snake is a snake. I've never felt comfortable around any of them.'

Sam shook her head. 'You don't know them like...like I do. Jolinar...the Tok'ra I was host to. She made a mistake yes, but I have long since forgiven her and I believe that she would have left me if she had survived and I had wanted her to. She ultimately gave her life for me. I'm sure it would have been a very different experience if I hadn't fought her so hard. If I hadn't been so against anything I didn't understand, I might have listened, realized she wasn't a Goa'uld. That's one of the things I regret. Sometimes I actually miss her. I'm not sure I could handle being a Tok'ra host, but...sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I almost convince myself I would _like_ it.'

'Um...if that's it I'm sure the Tok'ra won't turn you down...it's not like they've got an easier time getting hosts know as far as I've heard. Worse than during the Goa'uld, actually.' Vala wrinkled her brow. 'Though I must say I think you're crazy for even considering having one of those in your head.'

Sam shrugged. 'I probably won't do it, though I guess I might if...'

'That's not what you're brooding over, right? That you don't have a snake? You said there was someone you were interested in - what did that have to do with Jo-_linar_?'

Sam closed her eyes for a moment, looking distressed. 'When Jolinar died, she left stuff in my mind...memories..._feelings_...'

'And they're confusing you?'

'Yes...because it felt _exactly_ like they were my emotions! For a long time I didn't know if _I_ felt anything for him - or if it was all from her. I still get the dreams sometimes. They were..._nice_, I guess. Comforting...and often...' Sam blushed. 'Hot...however, after he died, the dream stopped being a comfort and became a reminder of what I would never have.'

'Wait...you're pining for your Goa'uld's boyfriend?' Vala said, increduled.

Sam looked a little embarassed, but also defiant.

'I guess. However, you never met him. If you had, you'd understand. He was kind, wise...hot, thoughtful, intelligent...did I mention hot? His symbiote was more hot-headed..._passionate_, sometimes impatient and a bit arrogant, mostly when people were fools, but he could be sweet and kind as well. Very intelligent. When he was the one in control of the body...he was very attractive. Sexy. His voice...oh, you would get shivers down your spine and heat would flare between your legs...' Sam looked dreamy, '...just keeping your hands off him - both of them, really - sometimes it was so very hard. But I fought my desire for them. I didn't know what I felt, didn't know what they felt. Did he - they - just want me because of their dead mate? Was the emotions I felt my own?' Sam sighed. 'When finally I knew that I loved them, it was much too late. Even when I learned they had loved me as much as they did their mate for a 100 years, it took me time to accept - and then they were both dead.' Sam looked down, seemingly about to cry yet again.

'Oh, poor Sam! You're really hard hit!' Vala threw her arms around her friend. 'What was his name? I mean their names.'

'Martouf - and Lantash.'

After some time, Vala pulled back and looked at her. 'Sam, he's dead. Both of them are. You need to move on. It's been too long. They're not coming back, but the good news is that there's a lot of great guys out there, and you can find someone just as great!'

Sam shook her head. 'No. That's just it. Every time I've tried, there's just something missing. For a while I'm more or less happy, or can at least convince myself I am, but it never lasts long. And at night _he_ is the one I dream about. Always him...them. I don't know if it's because of Jolinar or what, but I am certain I'll never be able to be truly happy with anyone else. Part of it is...I know the love they had, and I know that's not what I feel for other men. And I want that.' She looked up. 'Vala. I miss them. Terribly. When I'm on missions or working in my lab, I can forget, but it never lasts. When I go home at night, lie alone in my bed, the memories and the pain come back. When I'm on stand-down as now it is worse. That's one of the reasons I always work so hard, burying myself in my work. To dull the pain. Not that I don't love my job, because I do, but...I wish...it's just that I never even gave it a chance. I never even kissed him!'

Vala tried her best to comfort her and Sam eventually got herself under control and apologized for being depressing on Vala's wedding day.

'No worries. I hope it helped to talk a little.' Vala looked worriedly at her. 'I really have to run - do you feel up to participating?'

'Of course. I'm really sorry for being like this. I don't usually behave like this.' She half-smiled, a little embarrassed. 'Let's go celebrate! I'll help you get the rest ready, as it's my fault if you're late.'

Sam went with Vala and they got everything in order. Vala and Daniel got married and everyone celebrated, including Sam.

Weeks passed and Sam was back in her command, working hard as usual. One day as she got up from her chair on the ship, she stumbled and fell. When her ship-mates rushed to help her up, she fainted.

She woke up in sickbay.

'Sam?'

She tried to focus and saw a blurry image, which finalized stabilized to show the doctor of her ship, Doctor Teresa Simpsons.

'Yes?' she croaked, then cleared her voice. 'What happened?'

'You fell and then you were suddenly out cold.' The doctor looked worried, and Sam didn't like that.

'What is wrong with me?'

'I'm not sure. Almost all your readings are off - and not just the usual because of the naquadah in your blood - I mean really off. The simple thing is that your anemic, which I can fix. Haven't you been eating?'

'I've been eating. But I must admit I've felt sick for several days - and I've been feeling weak for weeks.'

'Why haven't you come to see me?' The doctor scolded mildly. 'I'll have to give you a full checkup.'

The doctor frowned at her notes for a moment.

'Out with it.' Sam said, worried.

'I must admit I'm confused. These result doesn't make any sense. It's as if your organs - your entire body - is failing. I can't find any reason - you should be healthy, but...'

'Can you do anything?'

'I can try give you blood transfusions, vitamins, monitor your condition. There are some drugs that might work, but...I'm sorry, but if I can't find a reason for what is happening, I can't treat it, and this isn't something your body can do anything about itself.' She looked apologetic. 'I think we need to ask someone else. Perhaps the Tok'ra have the technology to help you, or at least figure out what is wrong. You're going back to SGC - the doctors there will try to use what Asgard technology we have been able to figure out, to examine you, and you should also contact the Tok'ra, as I said.'

Sam paled at the bad news, but nodded. She had no choice.

Back at the SGC, a couple Tok'ra healers examined her with their scanners, and she was also checked with a device the SGC had constructed from Asgard and Ancient technology. They prodded her for a long time, then went to another room and discussed something.

Sam was feeling weak and sick, and she was irritated that they was keeping her out of their discussions. Finally they appeared to be ready.

'Do you know what's wrong? Can you do anything?' Sam asked, anxiously.

The Tok'ra healer nodded slowly. 'We have confirmed much of what doctor Simpsons found. At first the reason for your illness confounded us, but there can be no question about the result.' She looked up. 'I am sorry, Colonel Carter, but unless something is done - and I am afraid I am at a loss as to what to do - your body will slowly shut down and stop working.'

Sam slumped. 'There is nothing that can be done?'

'No. We found the cause, though.'

'Yes?' Sam said, hopeful she would be able to somehow come up with a cure if she knew what was wrong.

'You were cloned, and the process was not completely successful - whether on purpose or by accident we do not know, though we have reason to suspect the former.'

'_What_!' Sam stared at them. 'I'm a _clone_?'

'Yes. You are not the original Samantha Carter, though you seem to have all of her memories - and those of Jolinar as well.'

'And we don't have Thor to fix the defects...' Sam sighed. 'How did this happen? No, forget that - I know you don't know - when did that happen? Are there any clues to who did it?'

'We cannot tell for sure, but going from our readings, we believe you were made at least 7 years ago, perhaps as long ago as 10 years ago.'

Sam nodded, her mind whirling. 'There is nothing to do? You can't repair it?'

'No, that is beyond our technology.'

'The knowledge of it is probably hidden somewhere in the Asgard core, but I'm afraid it will take centuries to go through.' Doctor Lam said apologetically.

'What about...a symbiote. Could it heal me?' Sam looked at the Tok'ra healer.

'While it could possibly keep you alive for longer, the defects are much too extensive and getting larger. It would only be a question of a few months even then. As the situation is, I don't think any Tok'ra would risk their life - we are too few as it is.' She was quiet for a moment. 'I am sorry.'

'Don't be. I wouldn't want to risk a symbiotes life - especially not when it won't help much anyway.'

Over the next couple of weeks everyone at the SGC were examined and no one else was found to be a clone - then former members of SGC were examined, like Jack O'Neill, but they were clean as well. Only Sam was a clone.

At least they learned something from this. It meant it must have happened either on a mission were Sam had been alone or mission were she had been separated from the others for a significant amount of time. And they knew it had to be those she had been on at least 7 years ago, so they decided to start their thorough go through of them with P3X-403, an Unas planet.

It was a relatively limited amount of missions that were potentially relevant. After weeding out the missions it could not possible be, since there would be no one with that kind of technology who could conceivably have snatched Sam for the time needed - they not only needed to clone her, but to transfer her memory as well, so probably it would have taken at least several hours - they got it down to less than a handful missions that could be the ones.

The first one was the run-in with Nirrti, when she tried to create a perfect human host. Sam had been separated from the others for some time and experimented on. Nirrti had advanced technology and might have cloned Sam.

After some discussion, they got an idea. Why didn't they just look at the old cell samples that had been taken over the years? At the very least there were blood samples available for a long time back, of everyone who had ever worked at the SGC for a longer period of time - both the soldiers and civilians. They even had some for many of their alien visitors.

Going over these, they found that Sam had been a clone before she was experimented on by Nirrti and going back they found she was so even several years earlier.

As Sam got sicker, they desperately ran tests on all DNA samples stored at the SGC, while she slowly went through all reports on their missions, and followed up on every lead she found.

Eventually, they got some success. Dr. Lam announced they had found the earliest cloned sample from Sam. It was from early July 2000, not long after she had returned after helping the Asgard against the replicators for the first time. Earlier samples from here were of the 'original' Sam.

Not only that, but they also found two _other_ cell samples from cloned individuals - namely Martouf and Lantash, from about the same period. This meant all three were likely cloned at the same time.

With this new information Sam knew when it must have happened, because she had been on a relatively short mission together with Martouf/Lantash and no one else, to negotiate for access to some trinium that both Earth and the Tok'ra were interested in.

The people on the planet had been xenophobes and so would only allow one representative from each of the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri. The negotiations had ultimately come to nothing when the planet had been attacked by a Goa'uld named Ammit, working for - it turned out later - Apophis.

Sam and Martouf/Lantash had been captured and she remembered they had been unconscious for a while before waking up in a holding cell.

They had managed to escape. It had even been surprisingly easy. Then, they had prided themselves on their abilities, though now Sam suspected it was because the Goa'uld had already gotten what he wanted and had only returned their clones. It may even have been his intention to send those back. Their real selves had still been captured and probably tortured to death for information - and no one even knew they were missing, so no one came to rescue them. No one suspected anything. However much she hated it, Sam had to admit it was ingenious!

Being out of any other options, a mission was planned to go back to the planet they had been taken to after capture. While the original Sam was certain to be long dead, perhaps there would still be a laboratory to find, and maybe it would contain useful information that could be used to fix Sam. At least that was the hope.

It was not too far-fetched to hope the lab was in reasonable condition and accessible. Ammit had been killed by a more powerful Goa'uld around the time Apophis died, and the victorious Goa'uld didn't seem to have bothered with Ammit's projects and outer planets. This meant the lab might still be there and hopefully not destroyed.

SG-1 - Vala, Daniel, Teal'c, and Cam - had geared up and was ready to leave for the planet when Sam came into the gateroom. She looked thin and pale, and was supporting herself against a cane. However, she was in BDUs and dedicated to go with them. Landry had finally permitted it when she had argued that she would be better able to recognize something useful when she saw it, than the others. Besides, what if they found something that were to be done to her there, at the lab? It was obvious to everyone that she did not have much time left, so it made sense to bring her so whatever could be done, would be done quickly.

Sam stepped through the Stargate and almost fell. She waved off the offered help from her worried friends. She took a deep breath and felt a little better. She looked around. This was almost certainly the last time she would step out on an alien planet, she would enjoy it, dammit!

Thinking back, she remembered the place. It had been early summer then, and they had not had time to look much at the scenery as they were fleeing from several Jaffa. Now it was early fall, and the leaves were just starting to yellow. The air was still warm, but had a crispness that promised colder weather soon.

They slowly followed the path through the small forest to the fortress they saw some distance away. Sam could not walk very fast, but she insisted on moving on her own.

She could not remember the last time she had felt this tired. It felt as if every part of her body hurt and was complaining about this walk. She hadn't noticed the weakness being this pronounced before, but she had mostly stayed on base and only walked very little. This was very eyeopening for her, and she really realized she would not live much longer unless they found a way to save her in Ammit's lab.

As she and the others approached the fortress, the memories from that day so long ago when she and Martouf fled appeared to her. For a moment she remembered hiding among the bushes until dark, so they could get to the Stargate without being seen - or so they hoped.

She remembered the feeling of Martouf beside her, so close she could feel the warmth from his body. The constant faint sensation of the naquadah. She had realized she could recognize Lantash's signature. It felt different from that of other symbiotes. Familiar. Comforting.

Even there. hiding from the Jaffa and afraid for their lives, she remembered the attraction she felt. She had to restrain herself from putting an arm around him, snuggling up to him. She remembered the faint scent of him. He smelled good, she had decided.

Sam shook her head. This wouldn't do! Loosing oneself in memories of someone that was gone forever. She felt tears burn in her eyes and angrily blinked them away.

They finally reached the small village just before the fortress. The people came out of their huts, intrigued and wanting to know who their guests were. It had been years since anyone had come here. When they saw Teal'c they scattered.

'Hey, come back! We're not your enemies.'

'He's Jaffa...' One of the children said, having dared looking out from behind the low wall he was hiding behind. He quickly ducked again.

'He's a nice Jaffa. Helped kill the Goa'uld.'

They eventually convinced the locals they were friendly and when they had also convinced them the Goa'uld were all but gone, they were invited in for dinner.

Sam was exhausted so they decided to stay here for tonight and continue tomorrow. They gratefully accepted.

The food was warm, but that was about all good there could be said of it. The people were very poor and they ate dry bread with some kind of gruel, washed down with thin herb tea.

Next morning SG-1 minus Sam all met for breakfast - more of the gruel.

When they had almost finished without her having showed up they began to get very worried. Daniel went to check on her and Vala followed.

'Sam?' They knocked on the door to her bedroom. No one answered, and they knocked harder.

Finally they got a reaction from in there.

'Yes?'

'Thank god, Sam. Don't scare us like that!'

Vala opened the door and entered, seeing Sam still lying in bed.

'Overslept, did you?'

Sam moaned. 'I guess I did.' She tried sitting up. 'I feel horrible.'

Vala looked at her. 'You look like shit!' She looked at Daniel. 'Perhaps she should stay here while we go and examine the fortress?'

'No. I'm coming with you.' Sam managed to sit up, mostly on pure willpower. Vala and Daniel hurried to help her up, and eventually they got her dressed and helped her out to the breakfast table.

Sam didn't feel hungry at all, but she tried to force some food down, knowing it would probably make her feel better. Her head hurt like nothing she'd ever felt before, and she had difficulty focusing, though that was slowly getting better.

She ate a small amount and drank some herb tea, and felt a little better. They all said goodbye to the friendly villagers and made their way the rest of the way to the fortress.

The locals had not been able to tell them anything about the place, and had strongly urged them not to go there. Apparently they considered it bad luck, most likely because Ammit had used it for various experiments or just had been plain evil.

No one else had been there as far as the villagers knew, since a few months after Ammit had disappeared. They still had difficulties accepting that the Goa'uld Lord was actually dead.

The fortress had a vast courtyard, almost overgrown with plants now. Inside the walls it was quiet and foreboding. They walked across to the doors, feeling uneasy, but nothing happened. A crow cried out and gave them all a scare, but they soon relaxed, giggling a little at their own jumpiness.

Inside they were met with huge empty corridors, hallways, chambers...everything had been stolen or destroyed years ago. Here and there a broken window had allowed rain and wind - and birds and animals to enter. No one had been here for many years, but it was clear that someone had ravaged the place after Ammit had been killed. Probably the enemy Goa'uld or maybe his own Jaffa when they panicked. They had all deserted the planet not long after. Come to think of it, they were by far the most likely source for the devastation.

Seeing the place look like this put a damper on their mood, which otherwise had been hopeful after the locals had said no one came here.

They decided to not give up yet and meticulously searched through the place. Most of the time, Sam sat on the floor, in the stairway, and the others reported back from time to time of their findings - or lack of same.

Finally the whole place had been searched from top to bottom and they were about to give up when Daniel stumbled over something - literally. He had been looking at a broken mural in an alcove in the wall, when his foot caught in a stone that was sticking out just a little bit. Bending down, he curiously pushed it and a rumbling was heard.

Behind him the wall opened and a dark opening could be seen.

'Whoa!'

They all hurried to the opening and looked inside. As soon as someone entered inside the opening, the light came on and a faint whirring noise could be heard from the airconditioning.

'This is a bit unsettling...'

'We should still investigate.' Vala insisted, giving Sam a sideways glance where she sat, leaning her head against the wall. She was almost gray in the face and they had all seen how she shook when she tried to stand before.

Everyone agreed and they all entered, Teal'c carrying Sam. They walked through a long winding corridor with several doors on the sides. They were all closed with no obvious signs how to open them. At the end they came to another door, which could be opened by Vala, when she touched the pad beside the door.

'Goa'uld technology. Locked to the naquadah.' She said.

They entered and the light came on. They saw a HUGE room, filled with machinery of all kinds. Consoles and devices lined the walls and in the middle stood a big machine that had some sort of man-sized compartment.

Teal'c had sat down Sam near one of the computers and she was typing away at it. She took another look at the largest of the devices.

'I have no memory of being here, but I guess that's not so strange. The real us were probably unconscious when we were brought here and so even if we saw it later, maybe the clones never did so I don't have any memory of this place.'

A few more commands at the computer console gave Sam some more information. Tiredly, she looked at her friends.

'That monstrosity over there,' she tried lifting her hand to point, then resigned to waving a finger in the direction of it. 'It's the machine that was used to clone us and transfer our memories.'

'Can it fix you? Or did you find something else that can in there?' Daniel said.

Sam tiredly shook her head. 'No.'

'So this was just a waste of time?' Cam said enraged.

'I'm afraid so. Sorry.' Sam said sheepishly. She suddenly read something. 'Wait...'

'What?'

'There's something here I'm not sure of, I think it's worth letting the machine scan me.' She put her hand into a small scanner that was on the table connected to the rest of the device.

It made a number of humming noises and beeps, then text spouted over the screen very fast.

'What's going on?'

'It...would seem in is reading out all the things that's wrong with me.'

'Can it do anything?'

'No...but it looks as if...' Sam sounded shocked. 'My original body may be in there!'

'YAY!' Vala did a little happy dance. 'So we can just wake the real you up and you'll be fine!'

'Well, maybe, if I knew how. However, I won't be the same Sam as I won't have the memories of the last...10 YEARS!' Sam carefully shook her head. then suddenly got a pained expression. She doubled over in pain and fell to the floor where she was racked by stabbing pains for several minutes while her friends could only look on. When she stopped heaving and gasped for breath, she looked up and a small amount of blood was leaking from her mouth and nose.

'Sam!' The other looked at her horrified.

'Can you not use the machine to transfer your memories to the Samantha Carter in stasis?' Teal'c said.

'Yeah, that's an idea! It was done the other way before was it not?' Vala sounded hopeful.

'Yes, but I'm not sure it would be the correct thing to do. Morally I mean.' Sam said.

Daniel nodded. 'I see what you mean, but...'

'What? You're crazy! If Sam hadn't been cloned the original one would have lived in the same life as the clone did and would have the memories for it! She deserves it!' Cam said.

They discussed it for some time and suddenly realized Sam was not saying anything. They looked at her and saw she was unconscious. Examining her they found she could not be awakened and her breathing was shallow and gasping.

'She's dying.' Cam concluded.

'We must use the machine to transfer her memories quickly and wake the original.' Teal'c said.

'I'll do it.' Vala said and sat down at the computer. She had knowledge of Goa'uld language and computer systems from Qetesh.

They hooked up Sam to the system and Vala typed in a number of commands and then hesitantly pushed some buttons.

'I'm actually not completely sure of how this works, but I'm reasonably sure it transferred her memories to her original. However, I can't figure out how to wake her.'

'Did it transfer?'

'Yes.'

'Thank god, because Sam is dead now.' Cam said.

'I think we need to go and activate the stasis chambers wake up routine automatically because I can't figure out how to do it.' Vala said apologetically.

'OK.' Cam said. 'Let's find out where it is - I don't suppose you know?'

'No, but I think those doors we couldn't enter are exits from the stasis chambers.'

They went around the room and looked at several devices and panels and consoles. Finally Daniel called out.

'Hey, I think I've found it!'

They all hurried to him.

'See this panel here controls the stasis chambers. If I understand it correctly these ligths show if it is occupied or not and you can just push the button beside the light to wake the person. I'm assuming that opens the stasis chamber. I think this is a kind of safety override.'

'OK, but there are two lights that are on, so I assume there is someone in two of the chambers?' Cam said.

'Yes.'

'And I guess it would be too much to hope for that you can tell which one is Sam? Or even who the other occupant is?'

'As I said this is likely a safety override so there is no other information than that chamber 7 and 8 are occupied.'

Cam sighed. 'OK. Wake up the occupants of both.' He turned to Teal'c. 'Lets go get ready to receive them - and hope none of them is a big bad Goa'uld.'

They hurried out into the corridor and found the chambers in question.

'OK, Daniel, push the buttons!' Cam said into his radio.

'Wait! Sam disappeared - her body, I mean.' Vala said running out of the lab. 'It just disappeared from the floor - a beam played over it and it disappeared.'

'Most likely some kind of cleaning-utility.' Teal'c said. 'I have seen things like that before among some Goa'uld to clean an area. Her body will have been incinerated - for efficiency reasons.'

'Very - _efficient_.' Vala frowned.

'Yeah, well we'll have her back soon - healthy and alive.' Cam smiled. 'Daniel, push the buttons.' He said into the radio.

Daniel did so and hurried to join the others in the corridor.

'Let's hope Sam has some clothing on now when we can't give her what she wore - the clone took what she had before, you know.' Vala suddenly thought out loud.

A humming sound could be heard, followed by a hydraulic hiss. The two chambers opened and after a few moments they heard someone moving in there - and moaning lightly as someone who is just waking up.

They smiled happily as Sam slowly emerged from the chamber, looking a little confused. She yawned, then discovered her friends and smiled at Daniel and Teal'c. She looked a little strangely at Teal'c's hair, then her eyes moved to Cam and Vala. She looked as if she was trying to remember something. She wore a hideous gray coverall.

'Sam!' Vala cried happily and ran to her friend, embracing her in a warm hug. Sam just stood there for a moment, then lifted her arms and tentatively hugged Vala - as if she wasn't sure who this was but here friends seemed to think she should know her.

Then she gasped out and fell to her knees, grabbing her head and moaning.

'Samantha!' Someone said from just outside the other chamber door where he had been standing and observing. He quickly ran to her.

Daniel and Teal'c watched in shock as Martouf ran to Sam and kneeled beside her.

Cam looked surprised. 'Who is he?' He lifted his weapon.

Daniel held up a hand. 'He's a friend. Tok'ra.'

Cam lowered his weapon and nodded, observing the young man in similar clothing to Sam.

Sam looked up. 'I remember..._everything_...from the clone as well.' She noticed Martouf beside her, looking at her worriedly. 'Martouf!' She smiled widely.

'Are you all right, Samantha?' He put a hand on her arm, smiling back.

'I'm fine.' She began to get up and Martouf helped her. Sam got tears in her eyes. 'I've missed you so.' She grabbed his arms and gave them a light squeeze before she embarrassed let go. The others were looking on, amused.

'So _that__'__s_ Martouf you talked about, Sam!' Vala grinned. 'I can see what you mean. He's HOT! No wonder you had difficulties keeping your hands off of him!'

'Um, yeah.' Sam blushed and looked down.

Martouf smiled widely. He was talking happily to Lantash about how to tell Sam they liked her also. They had not dared hope she was attracted to them! But why did she look sad for a moment? And what did she mean she had missed them?

'Listen, guys, while as far as we know there are no enemies here, we should really get out of here and find another place to talk.' Cam said.

Everyone agreed and they left the place, making sure it was closed off so no one wandered in by accident. They would send a team of scientists back here later to go through it all thoroughly.

They hurried back to the small village outside the fortress, relieved to leave the spooky place behind them. Since it was already early evening and the road back to the Stargate was fairly long they decided to stay here for tonight.

The villagers happily greeted them, glad to see they had returned safely from visiting the fortress. SG-1 and Sam and Martouf sat down to relax outside to talk in peace before they would eat dinner with the locals.

'We are grateful for you rescuing us.' Martouf said, looking puzzled. 'However it seems something must have happened while we were captured and in stasis. Much longer passed than just a few days or weeks, am I not correct?' He asked. 'For one thing, the fortress seemed empty and there are no Jaffa everywhere.'

'Oh boy yeah did stuff happen since you were captured!' Daniel said. 'It was around 10 years ago!'

Martouf gaped at him. '10 years! We have been in stasis for 10 years?'

'Yes, you have.'

They quickly summarized what had happened since he and Sam had been captured.

'We we're cloned and died after having been made zatarcs?' Martouf sounded increduled.

Sam nodded. 'Yes.' She closed her eyes and remembered the pain, then she smiled and opened her eyes. 'But the real you are OK!'

Martouf smiled. 'I am...and so are you. You were also cloned - and died from the defects it had?' He looked concerned.

'Yes, my clone died today. It's...very strange. But I'm fine - and I have her memories. I wonder what will happen when I come back? Will I get her rank or will I be demoted/keep the rank from before?' Sam looked thoughtful.

'You've got her memories, haven't you?' Vala pointed out.

'Yes, but _I_ haven't lived through it - though I remember it as if I have...'

'Then I'm sure they'll say you're the same person, essentially and will get her rank and ship,' Cam said, reassuring.

'Eh, I've got Jolinar's memories as well and they too feels as if they are mine and that I've experienced them. Doesn't mean I'm her!' Sam pointed out. 'Of course, I only have access to some of them...I guess it would be different...never mind.'

'The Tok'ra do consider you her...heir, successor, I am not sure what the correct term would be in your language.' Martouf said. 'Not her, but...' He half-smiled. 'We don't think of you as her, though.' He quickly added.

'Doesn't the snake talk?' Vala wondered. 'It's rarely the host is in control this much.'

'Lantash would rather not be called a 'snake' if you don't mind.' Martouf said. 'And it is individual who is in control most.' He looked at her, thoughtfully. 'Qetesh. You were host to Qetesh. I have seen pictures of her..._you_, sorry.' He bowed his head, giving Lantash control.

'**You ****are ****a ****former**** Goa****'****uld ****host****, ****so ****I ****can ****understand ****why ****you ****may**** be****...**_**hostile**_**...****towards ****any**** symbiotes****. ****When ****were ****you ****freed****?**'

Vala jumped at hearing his voice, as did Cam. She snorted. '_Freed_...it is such a simple word. The Tok're removed Qetesh from me 5 years ago and then they just left me on my own! Do you have any idea how hard that was? With people thinking you're still a snakehead and with no place you belong anymore. And after experiencing Qetesh for so long!' She frowned. 'OK, I may not have been particularly comfy staying with them and I may have yelled at them some, but that's _totally_ understandable in such a situation! I think they wanted rid of me as quick as possible and dumped me with some people they claimed would take care of me.' Vala snorted again. 'The place was a boring dump - no opportunities for someone like me. I left a few days later.'

'**I**** am ****sorry ****for ****what ****you ****experienced****, ****but ****you ****can ****hardly**** blame**** the ****Tok****'****ra ****if ****you ****decided**** to**** leave ****on**** your ****own****!**' Lantash said, sounding slightly condescending.

'Maybe we shouldn't discuss this now...' Sam said, pointing to some of the locals who were looking at Lantash with an expression of mixed fear and shock.

'Can we have Martouf back instead?' Vala said.

Lantash nodded. '**Martouf**** is ****more ****diplomatic ****than ****I**** am****, ****I ****would ****have**** thought ****we**** had ****learned ****that ****is ****usually ****a**** bad ****idea**** for ****me**** to ****be ****in ****control ****around ****Tau****'****ri**** - ****and ****their ****friends****!**' He dipped his head and gave control back to Martouf.

Martouf smiled a little embarassed. 'Sorry, this is not the time or place for that. Vala, we _are_ sorry for what you experienced. Nothing can ever compensate you for the years you lost to Qetesh and the horrors you must have experienced. We cannot comprehend how horrible it must be to suppressed and forced to witness your body do some of the things she did.'

Vala nodded, mollified.

They went inside to talk to the locals and try to convince them that Lantash was not a Goa'uld and that they did not need to fear anything. They mostly succeeded, even though their hosts kept throwing Lantash and Martouf apprehensive glances during the whole dinner. They also apologized profusely for not having better food to offer him - or a better room. He sighed deeply and repeated yet again that he was not Goa'uld, but Tok'ra and that they did not want - or deserve - to be treated like gods. Not that the Goa'uld deserved it.

After dinner Sam took a brief walk outside. The air was still warm and one of the planets moons was just coming up. It was very pretty and she really needed some time to get everything together in her mind.

She stopped at an opening in the small forest and looked at the lake in front of her. The moon was reflecting in the water and it was beautiful. Now and then a fish would make a splash, but otherwise all was quiet. Sam sighed and sat down on a large flat rock near the shore. It was still warm from the sun and she felt very relaxed.

How strangely all had changed recently! It was only months ago that she attended Vala and Daniel's wedding, and she had been crying because she would never get a chance to find happiness with Martouf. Then so much had happened - she had literally died and...she was another person. Or was she? She remembered all that had happened during the 10 years she had been in stasis. She shook her head at the strangeness of that statement. However, if she doubted for a minute that she was Sam from 10 years ago she could just look in a mirror. She had been shocked that she looked so young.

Not that she looked old 'before' - her clone, that is - just that life had been hard and stressful. She had been through much - many dangers. Now all those scars were wiped from her body. The years were gone. She absentmindedly touched her neck were the Goa'uld had entered that time when they had discovered the cloned Goa'ulds that were too young to take over when the host was awake.

That scar was gone as well. She had never been taken over by it. She felt happy about that. She had hated the scar. Martouf was right - a host would feel it distressing to have such a scar. It was a good thing the Tok'ra did not enter their hosts that way.

Martouf... He was alive. He too had been a clone - the one that died. As had the Lantash that died. Now the original Martouf and Lantash were with them again. She knew they loved her...she suddenly realised that it had only been weeks or less between the time they had been cloned and the time Martouf/Lantash had been made zatarcs. Perhaps it had even been done to the clones when they were made? It made sense.

In any case, they probably already felt for her as they had done when they died. Martouf had said they had grown 'fond' of her. Later she had heard from Lantash that they loved her as much as they had loved Jolinar.

Her heart beat faster when she thought about it. They loved her! And she knew she loved them! She should tell them. But they still would live on different planets, even if there were no longer many Goa'uld left to make life dangerous. There were many other things to make life dangerous for them.

And there were still the issue with her growing old and dying while Martouf would still be as young as today.

She would have to think about becoming Tok'ra. It was no longer so much of a problem - she had come to terms with what Jolinar had done and she had forgiven her. It was past. Could she become a host again? Were she ready? She thought so.

She sighed deeply, then suddenly froze. Someone was approaching - she felt the naquadah. Relaxing, she realised it would have to be Martouf and Lantash. Teal'c no longer had a symbiote and Vala had only traces of naquadah, much less than her, so she could only be sensed when Sam was very close by.

'Hello, Samantha.'

'Hi, Martouf...Lantash.' Sam turned partly to look at them.

He came to stand beside her, looking out over the water beside her. After some moments he sighed deeply.

'Much has changed in the galaxy while we were in stasis. The Goa'uld are mostly gone, and we are very happy about that. It more than makes up for the fact that there are few Tok'ra left.' He turned to Sam. 'I talked to Teal'c some. I sensed he did not have a symbiote any longer and he explained that he and many other Jaffa now use tretonin. It is a dream come true that the Jaffa are no longer dependant on the Goa'uld. It saddens me that this came together with the death of Egeria.' He gave over control to Lantash.

'**She**** would ****have ****considered ****it**** a ****small**** price ****to ****pay ****for ****freeing ****the**** Jaffa ****from ****the ****dependency**** of ****the**** Goa****'****uld****.**' Lantash was quiet for some time. '**The ****Tok****'****ra ****are ****truly ****a**** dying**** race ****now****. ****We**** have ****become ****very**** few****. ****It ****is****...****hard****.**'

Sam didn't know what to say. She put a hand on his arm and squeezed gently. He looked at her.

'Lantash, perhaps all is not lost...' Sam suddenly remembered what they had gotten from the Asgard. 'We only have a tentaive grasp on it for now, but we got all the knowledge from the Asgard when they committed mass suicide. We have their research on cloning. I'm sure your scientists can figure it out. I will do my best to convince our people to give the Tok'ra access to that research.'

'**The ****Asgard**** committed ****suicide****?**'

'Yes, because they were dying - problems after having cloned themselves for so long. They tried to solve the problem, but...'

'**It ****is ****not ****a**** bad ****idea****, ****but ****we ****might ****risk ****the ****same**** problem ****as ****them****, ****unless ****we ****can ****overcome ****it****.**'

'

'Perhaps some sort of combination with DNA from more than one symbiote - the Asgard also changed themselves extensially - you won't want to do that. Also, can't a queen be made? Then you won't even need to clone afterwards and can go back to normal breeding.'

'**It ****is ****possible****...**' Lantash nodded, looking interested. '**I ****know ****we ****have ****old ****cell ****samples ****from ****Egeria****. ****Perhaps ****they ****can**** be ****combined ****with ****that ****of ****a**** cloned**** symbiote ****and**** thus ****create ****a ****queen****...****it ****would ****be**** very ****interesting ****if ****you ****can ****get ****the ****SGC ****to ****give ****our ****scientists ****access****.**'

Sam smiled, happy Lantash seemed to be in a better mood. She felt like hugging him.

He looked at her, somehow sensing her mood.

'**Samantha****?**' He turned fully towards her, taking one of her hands in his. '**I ****am ****sorry ****you**** - ****your ****clone**** - ****had ****to ****be**** the**** one ****to ****shoot ****our ****clones****.**'

'It was hard.' Sam admitted. 'Harder than anything else I had ever done. Than anything I did afterwards. I have so many regrets. Never telling you...' She stopped herself and blushed.

'**Never**** telling ****me ****what****?**' Lantash looked hopefully.

Sam made a decision. 'That I love you. Both of you, Lantash. You and Martouf.' She looked at them, fearful she was wrong and they did not love her. What if his - clones - admission had been the result of faults in the cloning? The brainwashing?

He smiled widely. '**Samantha****.**' He took her in his arms. '**Do**** not ****look**** so ****concerned****. ****We **_**love **_**you****. ****Both ****of ****us****!**'

Sam looked happily at him. She leaned in to kiss him, thinking that those two together were just perfect! Martouf was sweet and kind - the very definition of the perfect man to bring home and introduce to your parents. Lantash was also an absolute sweetie, but on top of that he was also more the dangerous, bad guy your parents warn you about. Not that he would ever do anything wrong, but he was the kind you'd imagine dressed in leather jacket and riding a motorcycle... Of course, that was really Sam who did that, and besides, Jacob had already met both of them...Sam shook her head at herself and her thoughts and focused on the kiss. Lantash had deepened it, and begun to fondle her back.

'**My**** sweet ****Samantha****, ****I ****look**** forward**** to**** showing ****you ****how**** much**** I ****love ****you****...**"His voice was deep and seductive and Sam felt her longing for these two men.

Her last coherent thought before she surrendered completely to her feelings and lust were that she hoped their friends would not come looking for them anytime soon.


End file.
